The U.S. military says it killed a senior al-Qaida leader in an airstrike Friday in syria-base-houses-us-troops-no-us-injuries-rcna3466" target="_blank" rel="noopener">northwest Syria.

Army Maj. John Rigsbee, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement that Abdul Hamid al-Matar was killed by a drone strike.

Rigsbee said the killing of al-Matar will disrupt al-Qaida’s “ability to further plot and carry out global attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians.” He said al-Qaida “uses Syria as a base for threats reaching into Syria, Iraq and beyond.”